Recently, when visiting an elderly family member in a nursing home, I couldn't help but notice the strong smell of urine in the areas where he spends most of his time. Is there anything that I could suggest to the nursing home to do/use to mask this smell, at least in the room where he sleeps. I know it sounds ghastly but the staff are always cleaning up "little accidents", surely there is something that can be done to make it a little more pleasant?
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My father in law has the same problem. After he leaves, we spray the area with NutraAir or Febreze. Maybe you could suggest to the nursing home to have a supply of those cheapo chair pillows (I hope you know what I'm talking about, I've seen them at the dollar store and they have little ties on them which you're supposed to tie to the back of the chair) and replace the ones he's sat on every so often and put the dirty ones in the laundry.
I am a nurse and when I worked in a nursing home we used lemon slices! Put in a cup and tape to back of chair and bed. Change daily. We also took a lemon slice and ran the slice on the chrome on the guard rail.
No nursing home should smell of urine. If it does, it is a sign that the place is being inadequately cleaned. There are commercial products to deal with this problem. It isn't the responsibility of the nursing staff to handle this, either. The nursing home has a custodial staff that doesn't seem to be doing their job properly. Have a word with the administrator. Squeaky wheels get the grease. If this isn't resolved I would notify the appropriate state or governmental licensing board.
I made waterproof chair pads that are washable. Used rubberized drapery lining sandwiched between heavy terry cloth. Then covered with black polyester fabric.
The cleanliness of a nursing home or any other senior living community is every ones responsibility,not just the housekeeping departments or custodial staff as you say. It truly comes down to everyone doing their part. A lot of your care takers responsibilities include general cleaning and laundry. The HWD and nurses have the responsibility for making sure that the resident does not have an underlying medical condition that could be causing this persons incontinent. It is a problem that is often overlooked and blamed on one single department when the fact is that usually a lot of the areas are only visited once a week by housekeeping or custodial staff as this is procedure or policy. A lot of the times the residents clothing is soiled and their laundry is not clean or accidents are not cleaned up immediately as they should be.
Im a mother of a two and four year old and pee is natural. Containing and disposal are another story
I believe that its also up to the nursing staff to clean up after a mess and not just leave it until the housekeeping staff show up, working together as a team will keep the environment clean and smell free!
You are misrepresenting the truth when you use such a broad and generalized judgment. I work maintenance, at a 'care facility', and we are very sensitive toward the residents, their families, and supporting staffs concerns regarding "urine odors", and other odors, in general. The issue is more complex than most realize. Perhaps you could offer some positive input instead of a sentence of being guilty of neglect. Many work-hours are dedicated to (not simply "masking" the odor, but actually extracting the residue which can contribute to a bacterial environment.
Your response is absurd and obviously you don't have a clue what you are talking about. I have worked in healthcare for 15 years now, hospitals and nursing homes. Residents/Patients have rights. I took care of one person who chose to not get out of bed, would lay in her feces and urine for days simply because she didn't want to be changed and she has rights.
I am a nurse and before that worked in a bar, we used to use vinegar and water to clean the urine odor(making sure to change the water and vinegar often) for the male bathrooms. In nursing we have used shaving cream. If the facility is old the flooring may need to be replaced, you can cot get the smell out if it has soaked in the floor no matter how hard you or housekeeping try. It may not be the homes fault. Unless they just won't change the flooring. Also you might want to check to see if your family member has a possible infection ( or someone that might share the space). Talk to other family members.
The products in the pet department that eliminate pet urine odor also claim to eliminate human urine odor. I've only used it on pet smell, but it works well in that application.
I hope you do talk to the staff,but beyond that I know shaving cream in your uncles bath water or a little on a wash cloth will help the odour on him. Good luck
what kind of shaving cream for the urine odour?
My old dog just urinated on my brand new carpet (nylon stainmaster very light color). I blotted thoroughly, used incredible twice, sucked up with vacuum cleaner that takes up liquids, then used baking soda twice (waiting an hour between eachP).
I own a tavern in Oregon and have to constantly deal with urine smell in the men's room. Straight bleach will not remove the odor but mopping daily with Spic n Span does.
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